Today we went to Hogpoint, my favorite spot on the navy base. Sarah had never been there, so it was fun showing her our little spot of heaven on earth.
Sarah agrees that it is beautiful. Today was especially serene. There were few sailboats, which is rare. The tide was going out, so we had fun leaning over the railing to watch all the sea creatures going by. One funny picture was of a crab holding onto a jellyfish...we couldn't tell who had who.
I had warned Sarah that as soon as we arrive at Hogpoint, we must set off some sort of alarms because a helicopter always comes by to check us out. Well I wish I'd had my camera ready because the helicopter came right to us, then made a quick u-turn right in front of us, then sped off. It was really exciting for us!Here's my last picture of Hogpoint. Can you get a feel for how calm and peaceful it was?
Oops ~ one more picture of Hogpoint. While we were there, this bird (we think it was a falcon) made quite a racket. Actually, there were two birds, one was flying around in circles. I don't know if we were the cause of all that noise, or if the other bird was an enemy (they were the same breed). Anyhow, after 5 minutes, she/he calmed down.

Remember our hornet's nest? Well, here's the before and after picture. I don't know if it was a storm or a BB gun that caused its demise. Good riddance!
Tonight we had fried okra and salsa for dinner. I loved the okra. Everyone ate it...but it definitely wasn't everyone's favorite. My children liked the taste but not the slimy texture...and these are the kids who love to eat grits! Yucko! I'd rather eat sand.
I told you yesterday that I'd post pictures of the other rail fence quilts that I made for samples. This is one of my all-time popular kits called Patriotic Calicos. The white fabric has a calico print on it that refuses to show up on camera or scanner. I just realized the calico print on the blue doesn't show either.
We call this our folk art kit.
Black and creams.
Black and whites.
Browns ~ another favorite.
Royal blue.

Summer florals. The white has a floral pattern on it.

Yesterday I brought home this DVD from the library. It was made in 1956 and is called "Friendly Persuasion." It stars Gary Cooper. I went to http://www.imdb.com/ to see what I could find out about the movie. Here is the plot:

The story of a family of Quakers in Indiana in 1862. Their religious sect is strongly opposed to violence and war. It's not easy for them to meet the rules of their religion in everyday life but when Southern troops pass the area they are in real trouble. Should they fight, despite their peaceful attitide?

This movie has given our family a lot to talk about today. There were two things that got our attention. First, the wife was the Quaker preacher. I don't know how they got around that scripturally, but she was. And we noticed that Gary Cooper (her husband) did everything he could to undermine her. Is it any wonder?!

Secondly, the Quakers were very adamant about their beliefs...until the hard times came. How quickly everyone succumbed to worldly values!

I recommend this movie to all families, but only if you are going to spend time talking about it. If you live here in southern Maryland, go to http://www.stmalib.org/ to put a hold on this DVD.

Many blessings ~ Kathie